Man Sentenced for Pointing Shotgun at 7-Year-Old Girl Scout

The 61-year-old California man who pointed a loaded shotgun at a 7-year-old girl trying to sell him Girl Scout cookies was sentenced to six months in jail on Friday, the Press Enterprise reports. The unnamed Girl Scout was selling cookies out of her Radio Flyer wagon in 2014 when she knocked on John Dodrill's door in Temecula. According to the AP, Dodrill opened the door and immediately pointed a loaded shotgun at the girl.

The judge in the case recalls Dodrill discussing the events of that Sunday morning like he "was fighting off a siege of gang members." "Mr. Dodrill to this day doesn't believe he did anything wrong," the Press Enterprise quotes the judge. "We were essentially a finger twitch away from a homicide." Dodrill pleaded guilty to possessing an illegal assault weapon and brandishing a firearm in February. (More Girl Scout cookies stories.)